NF History Project – Page 2

Thanksgiving Dinner at Sondreson Hall

Come join your North Fork neighbors at Sondreson Hall for our annual Thanksgiving potluck dinner. Turkey and ham will be provided. Please bring a side dish and your own table setting. The doors open at 3 p.m. and dinner is served at 4 p.m. This event is hosted by Christina and Steve Berg and cohosted by the original Thanksgiving dinner hosts, Pat and Jon Elliott.

Thanksgiving dinner at Sondreson Hall has a long tradition. We recently received the following from Pat and Jon Elliott telling all about the first (see the North For History Project page for this and other North Fork stories)…

As Thanksgiving approaches, we think it appropriate to recognize that this will be the 40th Anniversary of what has become a very special celebration for people of the North Fork. We hope to note this in the history of the North Fork .

It began in 1975. We had just moved in August with our teenage children from Alaska to the Knutson homestead. Marlene and Johnny Mathison had moved to the Holcomb family homestead earlier that summer. As Thanksgiving approached we discussed how we could celebrate this first Thanksgiving with our many new friends. Mathisons joined us with a visit to Loyd and Ruth Sondreson where it was quickly decided that we would join together to host a community dinner. Marlene and Pat cooked turkeys, a prime rib was furnished by Ruth and Loyd, others brought traditional potluck dishes and desserts. We had a wonderful celebration. Continue reading Thanksgiving Dinner at Sondreson Hall

North Fork History Project Takes a Leap Forward

Several years ago, members of the NFLA History Committee began to interview and record the stories of people who have been in the North Fork for a long time. Folks talk about what the North Fork was like when they arrived, going to school on the North Fork, encounters with bears, moose, and bobcats and much more. At this point there are 17 recordings that can be downloaded from the NFLA website at nflandowners.org/north-fork-history-project/.

Recently, the history project took a major step forward when Chris Graff and Monica Phillips volunteered to pay for written transcripts from these interviews. They came up with this idea as a way to support the history project and make the interviews accessible to more people. Thanks to Chris and Monica for their generous donation! The interviews can now be read on the website.

To make the history page even more interesting, Patti Hart has added photographs of those who have been interviewed and those who have been featured in North Fork short stories.

So check out the new and improved North Fork History Project page.

Ed “Mac” McNeil Passed

Last Sunday, February 8th, long time North Forker Ed “Mac” McNeil passed away. Mac and his wife Cecily bought land near Dutch Creek in Glacier National Park in the early 60s. They later bought 103 acres and built a cabin on the other side of the river near Moose Creek and lived there during the summers.

Mac and Cecily were early members of the North Fork Improvement Association which turned into the North Fork Landowners Association of today. They also worked to get a zoning petition and helped to found the North Fork Compact in 1973 in an effort to save the North Fork from development.

North Forkers have fond memories of events and square dances with Mac McNeil, Cecily, and their two sons Alan and Bruce. Mac will be missed.

If you are interested in hearing more about the North Fork from Mac and Cecily, there are audio interviews with them both on the North Fork History Project web page. You can get to that by clicking here.

There is also an excellent obituary provided by the Daily Inter Lake.

North Fork Homesteads Resource Brief

One of Glacier’s many cultural resources is highlighted in this brief. The homesteads in the North Fork not only remind us of the settlers in this area and how they lived, but also about early park history and controversy. Take a look at the updated brief on the CCRLC’s website at http://www.crownscience.org/download_product/1218/0

North Fork History Project has some new interviews

The North Fork History Project members were busy this summer interviewing more folks from the North Fork. Here’s what’s new:

Esther Chrisman – Esther was born in Illinois in 1927 to parents who were immigrants from Norway. She met her husband, Baird, in college and they were married in 1948. They started traveling west together to visit the Rockies. They visited their friends, Orville and Helen Foreman, who had purchased the Petersen homestead in 1948. Esther and Baird camped at Avalanche Lake and did lots of hiking in Glacier Park. They bought the Bart Monahan homestead in 1958 when their son Allen was three months old. They knew many of the original homesteaders.
Bud & April Evans – Bud and April’s parents, Frank and Edna Evans, bought the Panorama Ranch near Polebridge from Bill Adair in 1946. As children, Bud and April spent their summers in the North Fork and winters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Frank had come from Illinois to work as a naturalist for Glacier National Park. He started a hiking concession in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Edna came to Montana to work as a nurse in his business. They fell in love and married. The Panorama Ranch later became headquarters for their hiking trips in the Park.
Naomi Hoiland – Naomi was born in a log cabin in 1935 on Half Moon Lake near Belton. She first came to the North Fork when she was four years old and started school a year later at the Ford schoolhouse. She has fond memories from that time. She was raised by her grandparents, Ruth and Bert Conn and they lived near the Holcolms. Her Grampa Bert worked seasonally for the Forest Service as a smoke chaser, lookout, and on the trail crew. She knew many of the original homesteaders.

You can get access to these interviews on the North Fork History Project page under Oral History Interviews. Our many thanks to Debo Powers, Tom Edwards, and Karen McDonough for conducting these interviews and to Debo for writing up the summaries. And of course our sincere thanks to Esther Chrisman, Bud & April Evans, and Naomi Hoiland for agreeing to share their early North Fork memories with all of us.

New North Fork short stories

Two new North Fork short stories by Esther Chrisman have been added to the North Fork History Project page. The first, called The Bart Monahan Homestead, tells about Esther’s first home on the North Fork. The second, called Our Friend Tom, is about Tom Reynolds. Check them both out under the North Fork Short Stories on the North Fork History Project page.

North Fork history in letters and post cards

A good neighbor provided some North Fork history in the way of letters and post cards from the early 1900s. Check it out on the North Fork History Project page.

Polebridge school investigated

Alexander James Kroll selected an interesting historical topic for his Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology thesis at the University of Montana… the Polebridge schoolhouse. Alex says that this is the very first schoolhouse that was archaeologically investigated in the state of Montana and only the 5th to be looked out in the West. You not only learn about the Polebridge schoolhouse, but also the historical context and all about rural education.

You can download a copy of Alex’s thesis from here, but be warned that it’s 178MB so could take awhile and a lot of FAP.

Don’t forget that you can get access to Alex’s thesis and biographical information as well as other historical interviews and North Fork stories on the North Fork History Project’s web page. Check it out.